Friday 30 October 2015

Head Teacher Update – October 2015



To all Parents and Carers,

Head Teacher Update – October 2015

Welcome to the second blog of this academic session.

The session has started very positively and staff and students are working hard in school and the process of implementing our improvement priorities is well underway. In order to better understand these, we are currently putting together a video for you as a guide to understanding the school improvement plan. I hope to show this at the forthcoming Parent Council meeting on Monday 16 November and you are very welcome to attend – 7pm in the School Library. The video will be available to view on our school website when it is completed.

Attainment and Achievement
Details of our school academic attainment and wider achievement for session 2014-15 will be published shortly and you will be informed when details become available.

Behaviour in the Community
Whilst the majority of our young people behave well and conduct themselves in a manner we would expect, a small number are causing issues in the local community, particularly at lunchtime. We have addressed our concerns at school assemblies and all students have been made aware that as a school we take a very dim view of this. We will deal with reports of anti-social behaviour in a very serious way and will contact you where we have concerns as well as taking any necessary steps to ensure the safety of our students and individuals in the local community. As always, your support in this matter is very much appreciated.

Immunisation in Secondary Schools: Spring Term 2016

1. Meningitis ACWY programme
This is a one off programme for teenagers aged 14-18 aimed at preventing the further spread of the meningitis W disease.

Students in S3, S4, S5 and S6 will be vaccinated in school next term. S3 students will also be offered the routine teenage booster at the same time. Christmas school leavers will be offered vaccination at their GP Practice (as have others in the age group who left by summer 2015). In order to provide protection as quickly as possible, we are running these vaccination sessions immediately following the Christmas break. The programme will run from 11 January 2015 to 8 March 2015.

Named invitation packs with a letter, information leaflet and consent form will be distributed to schools in early to mid-November. These will be distributed to students as soon as we receive them and should be returned to school within 7 days.

2. HPV programme for girls
Due to the need for the emergency meningitis ACWY programme, the HPV programme will now begin after the ACWY has been completed. The HPV programme will therefore run from 7 March 2015 to 27 April 2015.

HPV Invitation packs will be distributed after the Christmas break. This is the year (one off) when as a result of the changeover from the previous programme, the sessions will involve S1, S2 and S3 girls (first dose for S1, second dose for S2 and second dose for S3).

We would appreciate your support in encouraging students to return the consent forms for both programmes. We realise that these can easily get lost in the school bag or forgotten - so any help you can give in reminding them is very welcome.

Dates agreed so far for the Immunisations:
·          - Teenage Booster 25 and 26 January
·          - HPV S1 & S2 – 21 March 2016

Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
From January 2016, the income thresholds for Education Maintenance Allowances are increasing for those students born before 1 March 2000 and this means more students may qualify to receive weekly payments of £30 per week.   The income threshold for families with one dependent child will increase from £20,351 to £24, 421 and for those with more than one dependent child will increase from £22,403 to £26,884.  If you believe your son or daughter will now qualify for an EMA you can find out more at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/ema.    Applications can be submitted from 26 October 2015.

Formal Assessment Weeks – Senior Pupils (S4, 5 and 6)
As part of our revised assessment and reporting calendar, Formal Assessments (previously known as prelims) will operate differently than in previous years. 

First, we have brought forward the timing of the assessment weeks. The rationale for this is to give earlier awareness of progress in courses and most importantly to ensure there is appropriate time for intervention strategies to take place. Week 1 and week 2 will take place as below:
Week 1 - 23/11/15 – Week 14
Week 2 – 30/11/15 – Week 15
Week 3 – 24/02/16 – Week 25

Students will be offered more exam style question practice during this week and this will help to inform final decisions on appropriate levels of study. They will also have a final opportunity to demonstrate ability at level and get invaluable practice whilst providing us with feedback on performance at the same time.

THERE IS NO STUDY LEAVE FOR FORMAL ASSESSMENTS.  All students should attend normal classes when they do not have assessments and school uniform must be worn at all times.

Formal Assessments in Exam Halls – 23 - 25 November 2015



Subject & Level
Time
Room


Monday 23rd November

English



National 5 - Paper 1
8.45-9.45
Drama/Gym

National 5 - Paper 2
9.55-10.40
Drama/Gym





Higher - Paper 1
13.45-14.45
Drama Studio

Higher - Paper 2
15.00-15.45
Drama Studio





Advanced Higher - Paper 1
13.45-15.15
Drama Studio





Tuesday 24th November

Mathematics



National 5
8.40-10.10
Drama/Gym





Media Studies



National 5
10.55-12.25
Drama Studio





Higher
10.55-12.55
Drama Studio





Languages



French, National 5
10.55-12.25
Drama Studio





Spanish National 5
10.55-12.25
Drama Studio





French Higher
10.55-12.55
Drama Studio





French Adv Higher Paper 1
10.55-12.25
Drama Studio





Computing



National 5
13.45-15.15
Drama Studio





Higher
13.45-15.45
Drama Studio





Wednesday 25th November

Mathematics



Higher, Paper 1
08.40-9.50
Drama Studio





Higher, Paper 2
10.15-12.00
Drama Studio





Drama



Nat 5
13.45-15.15
Drama Studio











Raising Teens with Confidence
Following the sessions at Gracemount some of the feedback from parents is highlighted below:-

·         “Fantastic!  Relaxed and non-judgemental, open to discussion and interruption!  Thank you for not judging but listening!”
·         “So much information and so interesting.  Loved the course.  Highly recommend.”
·         “Thank you for the practical guidance.  I feel better equipped to deal with what’s to come.”
·         “This has given me a better understanding of my child’s behaviour.”
·         “Course went by really quickly and I will be disappointed to finish.”

We very much hope to continue to deliver this course as part of our overall support to you. Please continue to keep up to date as this will be advertised on our school website.


Values Focus – Mutual Respect
My values focus for this blog is Mutual Respect and I firmly believe that this must be at the heart of any successful school.

Mutual Respect is defined as ‘proper regard for the dignity of a person or position’. It is the value we perceive in others. At Gracemount Mutual Respect means that “We are polite, courteous and caring. We treat people with dignity and respect.”
I know teachers work hard every day to forge positive relationships with our young people and to ensure they are treated with dignity and respect. Our vision statement clearly states that we “put young people at the heart of our community” and we will always continue to do this. Our challenge is to ensure our young people are aware of this and understand our commitment to them but that they also appreciate their role in being part of our values based approach. If our young people understand this, then it will positively shape how they behave towards each other, to their teachers, to other school staff and to individuals in the local community. Our approach will always be based on a foundation of mutual respect coupled with an understanding of the role of staff in school. Successful schools are firm, fair and caring in their approach and have the highest expectations of young people. They combine an unconditional positive regard with an assertive authority to ensure that the standard of education remains as high as possible – something we all want for our school.
Please take the time to look at our values on the school website and talk to your child about them. I am very much looking forward to the term ahead and to continuing to work with you to ensure the best outcomes for every young person who attends Gracemount High School.

Severe Weather
Finally, the winter weather is almost upon us and we are only too aware that Scotland can experience all seasons in one day but we do have procedures in place in the event that the weather takes a turn for the worst. The safety of our staff and students is always at the heart of all our decisions and we will keep parents and students fully informed about our ability to open during adverse weather on our website, by text alert and announcements on Radio Forth Travel. Please help us to keep in touch by ensuring we have up to date contact details, particularly mobile numbers and email addresses so that we can contact you at all times.

Thank you

Mr Ross Hunter